Welcome

I've been terribly bad at keeping this site up to date - the life of
a PhD student is a busy one and things like this tend to fall by the wayside.
We've just started rehearsing Great Expectations, and this is
one show I'm determined to be in (being a Medway lad). We can perhaps
accept new members for the next week or so -
book at the Arts Centre box office. or turn up on Monday evening in
the round studio at 7pm. Again, apologies for the radio silence.

Then and Now... and Something Else

22nd June 2016

For this summer's show, we have just started work on a revue celebrating
25 years of Castaway! This will run on 25th-26th August in the main
house. Old members are returning to reprise scenes from
productions of years past (with a few surprises!), and to meet up with old friends.

Please join us for a cheerful evening of memories and memorable performances.
It would be great to see some old friends who have left Aberystwyth.
As always,
book at the Arts Centre box office.

In memory of David Blumfield.

Classes!

22nd February 2016

This spring, rather than a production, we're going to be working as a class
and teaching drama techniques. Sessions are at 7pm on Mondays in the round
studio! Please
book at the Arts Centre box office.

The show goes on...

5th February 2016

Well, we carry on. I wasn't able to see, and didn't have the heart, to write about
Twelfth Night, but this production (which Dave was unable to be part of
except for the first few rehearsals) went swimmingly.
Our next production is a revival of Wyrd Sisters, and actually goes up
tonight in the main house! Dave wanted us to do a Pratchett next as a memorial
to a great man, and it turns out it's going to be a memorial to two great men.

The saddest news

31st October 2015

Woke up to the sad news that this morning David Blumfield passed away at
Bronglais Hospital. Dave changed my life, getting me into theatre and giving
me the confidence to know that I could get up there in front of a crowd of
people and do *anything at all*. He ran Castaway with
talent, gusto and a magically light directorial touch. He never compromised
his ethics, although it sometimes caused him great anxiety, and under him we
produced some great and brave theatre. We all owe him an enormous debt of
gratitude.

But above all, he was my friend, and I'll miss him terribly. He was a lovely, funny, kind and clever man. Rock and roll, Dave.

Jim.

Rehearsals for Twelfth Night!

1st June 2015

Rehearsals start tonight for Twelfth Night! Yes, it crept
up on me too, which is why you're not getting much notice. Sorry!

Don't worry too much if you don't read this in time - just turn up
on Monday at 7pm in the Arts Centre studio within the next few weeks
and I'm sure we can fit you in.

Terry Pratchett, and Oliver Twist

23rd March 2015

We were saddened to hear of the death of Sir Terry Pratchett a little
while ago. Without him, it's doubtful Castaway would exist in the form it
does - he gave his personal permission, back in 1997, for us to adapt
Wyrd Sisters
ourselves, and waived his copyright fee in return for a donation
to the Orang Utan Foundation from the proceeds. That hugely successful
production really put Castaway on a firm footing in the Arts Centre.

Oliver Twist is done (and has been for some time, we're just
not very good at updating this site) and was an absolute triumph! This
became a very complicated show to put on, but everyone rose to the challenge
and produced some sterling performances.

Currently, Castaway is in "resting" mode - we're still meeting weekly,
but rather than working towards a show, we're honing our theatre skills
with character exercises and games. Some of them are very challenging,
just as tough as working on a show in many ways. We return in the summer
with an outdoor production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, our
second Shakespeare (after Love's Labours Lost a few years ago).
Keep your eyes peeled if you want to take part!

Oliver Twist

2nd February 2015

Into the final week of rehearsal now, and the show goes up
on Thursday 5th February. Get your tickets from
the Arts Centre
box office!

Oliver Twist rehearsals tonight!

6th October 2014

The new show is going to be Oliver Twist! --- not
the musical; this is going to be much darker and nastier, closer to the
book. Rehearsals start tonight at 7pm in the round studio. Very much looking forward to getting my teeth into it!

Rehearsals start Monday!

4th October 2014

Rehearsals for our new production start on Monday
the 6th of October!
The group is run as a course by the Arts Centre. Tickets can be
booked from this link or you can
buy them from the Arts Centre box office. The first rehearsal is in
the performance studio (the round space next to the bar upstairs)
and you'll
need to be available for the production week sometime in February - I'll post the dates
of that when I know when it is. I'll post the details of the production
when I'm absolutely 100% sure what it's going to be.

An Evening of Coarse Acting

14th August 2014

Just a reminder that our next production goes up on the
28th of August. Here's a couple of pictures to whet your appetites, and
if you're wondering what's going on you'll have to come along to find out!

Long Absence and New Production

2nd July 2014

Yes, I've been extremely poor at updating this site lately. Or
not so lately. Since last I wrote, Castaway have produced two more
superb plays: the thrilling melodrama
The 39 Steps, and the uncompromisingly
shocking and difficult Jet of Blood.

Right now, we're working on a new production in which we promise the
acting will be absolutely terrible! Based on Michael Green's
An Evening of Coarse Acting, and updated with extra material by the
brilliant James Lawbuary (of Millwalk and Spouse fame),
this promises to be a hilarious look at how not to do amateur theatre.
It's much much harder than you think.

Featuring live music by John Sylvester (and some surprising operatics),
the show goes up on the 28th of August for three nights in the Arts
Centre studio. Tickets from the Arts Centre box office or
website.

New Members

5th September 2013

We're going to be starting the rehearsal process for our
next production soon, so new members are welcome. As always,
the group is run as a course by the Arts Centre. Tickets can be
booked from this link or you can
buy them from the Arts Centre box office. The first rehearsal is on
Monday the 7th of October in the performance studio, and you'll
need to be available for the production week sometime in February - I'll post the dates
of that when I know when it is. I've got a fairly good idea what
the production is going to be, but I'll wait it's been finalised
before I make it public!

Rain of Blood

5th September 2013

Rain of Blood has finished its run in the Arts Centre,
selling out the last night and nearly selling out the first! It was,
for us, a very ambitious production --- a new writer, complex multimedia
elements and a large cast made it quite an undertaking, but we're all
absolutely delighted with how it turned out. A real spectacle!

Rain of Blood: Rehearsals start Monday!

31st May 2013

Rehearsals for our next production, Rain of Blood,
which has been written by our very own Catrin Fflûr Huws,
start on Monday 3rd June! There doesn't seem to be an online
booking link on the Arts Centre site yet, but I'm sure they'll be able
to sort you out at the box office. Or just turn up in the round studio and
see what it's all about! Bear in mind that if you do want to take part,
you'll need to be available for the whole of performance week when we'll
be rehearsing intensively (not to mention putting the show on)! That's
the 26th to the 31st of August.

Rain of Blood: first readthrough!

15th May 2013

We've just this evening had the first tentative readthrough
with a very small group of friends of Catrin Huws' new play Rain
of Blood, which is to be our summer show! It's excellent stuff -
a celebration of Hammer-style horror, murder and gore with Catrin's
particular hallucinogenic flavour; inspired by Shakespeare's nastiest
play, Titus Andronicus.

Rehearsals for Rain of Blood start on Monday 3rd of June
in the round studio of the arts centre. Tickets for the course
are (or soon will be) available from the
Arts Centre box office. The performances themselves are on Friday and
Saturday 30th/31st of August.

The Skriker: Done and Dusted!

2nd May 2013

Not much news since last time, because we've been so busy with
The Skriker, which finished its run on Saturday. A tremendous
success! Stay posted for news about our next production!

The Skriker: Rehearsals start Monday!

2nd February 2013

Rehearsals for our next production, Caryl
Churchill's The Skriker, start on Monday 4th February
at 7pm in the Arts Centre round studio. There's a link to book
tickets for the course online on
this page.

Hi-de-Hi!

3rd January 2013

Our next production is Hi-de-Hi!, which will be
performed from the 24th to the 26th of January in the Arts Centre
Theatre:

Revisit the 1950's and Maplins Holiday Camp with its host of colourful
characters in this stage adaptation of the hugely popular TV series.
It's the start of a new season and founder Joe Maplin announces that
he is setting up a camp in the Bahamas. He needs female yellowcoats to go
and work out there and the annual "Miss Yellowcoat" competition will
decide who is to go. Rivalry between the girls is fierce, with Sylvia
and Gladys joint frontrunners to win the coveted yellow sash.
Camp cleaner Peggy, meanwhile, is thrilled at the prospect of a vacancy
for a new yellowcoat and convinces Entertainments Manager Jeffrey that she
is the ideal candidate for the job...

Following on from last year's sell-out production of
'Allo 'Allo, Castaway return to say: "Hi-De-Hi, campers!"

The Skriker

20th December 2012

The Spring production has been announced:
it's Caryl Churchill's dark fairytale,
The Skriker:

"The story of an ancient fairy who, during the course of the play, transforms
into a plethora of objects and people as it pursues Lily and Josie, two
teenage mothers whom it befriends, manipulates, seduces and entraps. Whilst
speaking English in its human incarnations, the Skriker's own language
consists of broken and fragmented word play. Blending naturalism, horror and
magical realism, it is a story of love, loss and revenge."

We will shortly be starting a new season for rehearsals for this
play - watch this space if you want to take part.

Then and Now... and Something Else,25th-26th August 2016

A celebratory anniversary revue including excerpts from some of
Castaway's best-loved shows over the years, some well-loved favourites
and a few surprises. Join us for a cheerful evening of memories and memorable
performances. In memory of David Blumfield.

Oliver Twist,5th-7th February 2015

This production marries the dark with the comic and truly
affirms Castaway\u2019s excellent reputation for vibrant ensemble playing
and storytelling. Live music by John Sylvester!

An Evening of Coarse Acting,28-30th August 2014

A hilarious exploration of the art of coarse acting - performances
designed to be horrifically bad on every level! Based on the works
of Michael Green, with extra material by James Lawbuary.